https://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/gingham-meets-18th-century • Posted by scandinavianabroad
At the start of the year I found myself so inspired by creating my own garments through both knitting and sewing. I wasn't quite sure where to start but decided to try and draft my own pattern for a dress by watching various tutorials and googling along the way. My gingham dress is basically just a few different rectangles gathered together to make a skirt, sleeves and bodice. The bodice is also shirred (a technique I find very easy to work with, and easy to make look good - just remember to steam your shirring after you are done so it shrinks together nicely!). The skirt I just measured out the length I wanted and also added a gathered frill at the end, which is somewhere in between 2-3 times the length of the hem. Originally I also wanted ties in the waist to hold the gathers, but decided against it along the way and ended up using elastic thread, as if I was shirring the waist, so that I didn't need any zipper or buttons for it. The sleeves easily fall down from the shoulders but I also added ties to the top of the back so I'm able to wear them either up or down, depending on what I want. For a first project I'm so happy with how it turned out and now I already have a star of fabric and patterns at home ready to be used very soon! The 18th century corset was something I found inspiration for on Instagram, and hadn't intended it to match so well with this dress - but it ended up working really well during a photoshoot with Celine Lundqvist and now I love this combination. The stays were easier to make than I had anticipated - combining machine sewing with hand stitching. The biggest issue I had was getting the eyelets in, but I've now purchased an eyelet press so hopefully for my next one it will be easier. I also think that next time I'll adjust this pattern (Simplicity 8162) to remove the flaps around the waist, to make a simpler version as well.